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Rebuilding Steering Wheel
I am trying to get my 403 back on the road after many years in the garage. The rim of the steering wheel has decayed badly and I talked to Paul Banham of Myrtle Products about a repair. He said they could replace the rim, but that a better solution would be to obtain a sound wheel and make a mould from which the wheel could be rebuilt as a whole. Once a mould had been made, they would be able to restore other Bristol wheels in the same way in the future.
I don’t have access to a good wheel (Paul said it doesn’t need to be perfect, but ‘not too many cracks’) but I wondered if anyone else would be prepared to make a wheel available - for what would seem to be a long-term benefit for all the models with the distinctive Bristol steering wheel (they already have a mould for the traditional Bluemels wheels of the 400). Myrtle Products will pay for the mould. The cost to me would be about £200, either for a repaired rim, or for a new moulding. Paul spoke about ‘light refurbishing’ on the borrowed wheel. I don’t know if that’s part of the deal, or if he would want paying for that, but I would be prepared to contribute something towards any extra charge (and cover carriage, etc, of course). Is there anyone out there who could help with this? I’m posting this message on the BOC website and on Bristolcars.info. Or are there other possibilities, or does anyone know of other steering wheel restorers who might already have a mould? Thanks in advance for any help. New poster introduction: I’m based in Nottingham, in the UK and I’ve had this 403 for many years, and been a (very passive) Bristol Owners’ Club member for almost as long. I ran the car in the late 70s and early 80s, but lack of time, money, and enjoying time with my family got in the way, and I put the car in the garage for 20 years. Now I have a little more time and money, and most of the family have grown up and moved out, I’m hoping to get it back together again. Hugh Miller |
Rebuilding Steering Wheel
Hugh
Have you spoken to Brian May to see if he can help. No one can own more Bristols or bits of Bristol than him. Have a look at the piece I did on him on www.jel450.com Myrtle Productions did my 400 wheel and it hasn't been 100% successful. The problem is that it's very bendy as are the spokes and it cracks the Polyester Lacquer. It looks much better than before restoration but there are cracks all round where the spokes meet the rim, which may eventually result in chunks of lacquer falling off. Ashley |
Rebuilding Steering Wheel
Well Ash, that is interesting as I was thinking about getting my 400 wheel
redone. Myrtle offer new ones for around 350. Do you think that may be better than restoring an old one? Much difference in price between new and restored? Dorien |
Rebuilding Steering Wheel
Dorien
I'd have a word with them about it. He's a very nice, helpful chap and I'm sure will give an honest opinion. Ash |
Welcome Hugh,
There's a mob out here in Australia called Pearlcraft, whom I understand are very good - perhaps others with direct experience can verify? Their web site is here www.pearlcraft.com.au/welcome.htm They used to have pictures of a Bristol steering wheel on their site but they were poor quality photos which is probably why they have taken them down. However they have many other "before and after" pics at www.pearlcraft.com.au/before_and_after.htm Kevin PS. It looks like they should stick to restoring steering wheels and leave the web site development to someone else :) |
Rebuilding Steering Wheel
Interesting options on Bristol 400 wheels costs and restoration. I
dropped the hint to my wife, that a restored wheel would be a suitable birthday present. Still dropping and no takers! It was suggested that other presents might be more suitable, and of course fast driving will put more attention on the road ahead and less on the wheel with some broken plastic bits and dull brightwork! Dorien |
Rebuilding Steering Wheel
Yes I used Pearlcraft to restore a 404 wheel the first effort not perfect
but they immediately took the wheel and refinished it to a perfect job in black they also removed and replaced the leather grips as well So worth a try I don't remember the cost but it seemed reasonable at the time Hugh |
Rebuilding Steering Wheel
Dorien,
When you find a suitable restorer for the 400 steering wheel please let me know. I need the Arnolt wheel restored and it is the same as the 400. I have a later (401 etc) Blumels wheel that I can leverage the restoration with, if this helps. Peter |
Rebuilding Steering Wheel
Hi Hugh, Have you considered rebuilding the wheel yourself and having the
black coating applied for under 100gbp's. I rebuilt a friends wheel by first killing the rust on the metal reinforcing rim then building up the outer with polyester, this I filed and sanded to shape until it was smooth and to size. I then sent it to Lancaster Vintage & Classic Spares 01524 423453 who do a black coating for steering wheels, the result being that you could not tell the difference. This was done some fifteen years ago and the wheel still looks ok. My regards, Bellerophon |
Rebuilding Steering Wheel
Someone in Australia told me not to use Pearlcraft and they are twice
the price of Myrtle who does mostly R-R, Bentley and Jaguar woodwork and steering wheels. Lots of owners of these cars have jewellery that scratches the lacquer. I don't but my steering wheel is flexible in all directions unlike the later ones. I understand this was because Brooklands was extremely bumpy as were the cars of that era (so is the 400 for that matter!) and it made it easier to hold on to the steering wheel at speed. I had a racing AJS motorcycle that was fitted with handlebars like a small car leaf spring for the same reason. I'd definitely use Myrtle for the job and I think he is as good as any you'll find, Bluemells Brooklands wheels aside and I don't know a solution for those. Rich has completely rebuilt a couple of 400 seats for Ivor Thomas's car and it is a hell of a lot better than the standard ones but higher. The springs were too weak in the original, there was nothing underneath to support them, there wasn't enough horsehair padding and the backrest gave no lumbar support at all. He partly rebuilt mine using the original Bristol cover, but it's not the same as a complete job, so if I can find some of the original Moquette (we have a source of original type leather) I'll get the whole thing done because it will transform the car. It goes like stink and cruises at well over eighty, but needs to be more comfortable IMO. Ash |
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Ashley, if you are going to put a company down, at least tell us which one of the 20 million people in Australia made this claim, and why you should not use Pearlcraft. Quote:
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Rebuilding Steering Wheel
Peter,
Yes of course. I am hesitant to send it out of the country as I would miss it terribly of lost so I will be looking closer to home. To some extent a new wheel has it's attractions as it is an instant cure and I keep the old wheel. Just the cost looks high. Alan /Pegasus Hunter... I have redone repaired wheels in the past and happy enough with the results. They were on Mercedes and BMW were the whole wheel is coated / plastic and there were cracks and bits missing. On the 400 I haven't figured out how to get the 3 spokes plated without destroyng the covering. I would then have to start with a bare skinny metal rim. My skills are not that good and I would be staring at my mistakes as I motor along! Horror! Dorien |
Rebuilding Steering Wheel
Myrtle got all my bits
Chroned in cluding the spring and clamp and it's a very good job. Ash |
Rebuilding Steering Wheel
I'm sorry wish I hadn't said
it now especially as they seem really friendly when I spoke to them. They were twice the price of Myrtle and I can't remember who put me off. Ash |
Rebuilding Steering Wheel
Ash,
I probably warned you about at least two BOCA members who had problems with Pearlcraft in Australia. Patching a cracked wheel rim can only be a temporary fix . To do the job properly all the original plastic material needs removing and the rim replaced with stainless steel or bead blasted &plated . The cracking of the plastic is sometimes caused by the original steel rim rusting & expanding . For a 400 type rim I suggest one buys a new wheel , if available ,which can be attached to a original hub ,the three spokes are usually pitted under the chrome. The new wheel should outlast all the individual members of this Forum. About 20 years ago a member of the BOCA here in Sydney rebuilt his own 401 steering wheel . Completely removed all the plastic rim , made a rough mould out of three pieces of plywood or cheap compressed board , suspended the rim in the centre of the mould then poured the mould full or Araldite two pack glue . Once hard smashed the mould and hand filed the rim , finishing with various grades of sand paper , then painted with a good quality two pack paint. The 401 went to UK some years later so I cannot comment on how well it has lasted , but it was a very inexpensive option just taking some time, it certainly looked perfect. Geoff |
Rebuilding Steering Wheel
Myrtle peel the cracked plastic off the spokes but leave the rim and
mask it, then they have the spokes polished and chromed. Finally they mould resin back over the spokes and up to the rim and then Polyester lacquer and polish it. The problem is that the original material was celluloid, which is more flexible and less crack prone. However, although there was/is a Brit company that re-celluloids I couldn't find them and wouldn't have used them because they'd done the wheel on one of my MKVIs and I'd seen others that were peeling and had faded to grey and gone splotchy. Alpine Eagle and many of the serious restorers simply fill the cracks, two pack paint and polish wheels with great success, or if they are bad enough they send them off to a company in Liverpool who re-cast the rim in aluminium and paint it. Therefore any later Bristol wheels are probably best done with two-pack after filling, but I don't think Myrtle make the original Bluemels type, instead I think they offer, as many do, the type of wheel used on racing Jaguars and Aston Martins of the time. There are Bluemels restorers but not for our type of wheel, only MG ones. I hope this helps. Ashley |
Alternative wheels
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When I found him a perfect LHD 403 on offer for half its market value, in thanks Mark Wallach gave me a custom Rolls Royce steering wheel he had made as a proposed prototype for them (they rejected it as too expensive). Wallach was a renown classic car woodworker in New York. What was notable was the fact that the Rolls Royce spline fit the Bristol perfectly. All that needs changing is the leather boss below the wheel as the RR has a wider diameter due to how the horn button is made. You can see this in the photo.
Not knowing what the market is for used RR steering wheels, finding a RR wheel may be a no-go, or it may be a viable alternative. Here is the Mark Wallach wheel. The deerskin leather needs replacing, but the wood is good. http://quick.village-town.com/411.jpg Claude |
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And surprisingly, a quick google search finds that as of one year ago, he is still alive and working (he was not young when he gave me the steering wheel in 1995). Here's the advert, plus a few other US steering wheel restorers
http://quick.village-town.com/wallach.jpg http://www.hemmingsdigital.com/hemmings/200804/?pg=195 Claude |
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Kevin |
Alternative wheels
The only Bristol 6 cyl I've seen with an original timber rim wheel
is the Zagato. That Roller one looks quite nice, but possibly a bit fat. Sean |
more on steering wheels
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Don't know about 6 cyl Bristols, but my 410 LHD (now sold and subsequently restored by Bristol Cars), the Elliot Gant (of Gant Shirts) car had a wooden Motolita wheel on it when I purchased it. Funny story that one... I had presumed the Motolita was an aftermarket add-on, and on a long weekend shopping trip to the UK for parts (it was cheaper - and more fun - to fly JFK to LHR than pay freight), Spencer Lane-Jones kindly sold me a proper Blumel for £50. When I then arrived at Bristol Cars to collect a 411 stainless exhaust system (these were the days when one could still check unusual luggage on Virgin Air), Brian Marelli advised me that in fact the Gant 410 had come originally with that Motolita wooden wheel, and indeed Mr. Gant had been a most particular customer*. He did not like the chrome side strips so they changed them to what became the more understated 411 strips. He did not like the colour of the paint job, and they repainted the car several times. And he felt the huge Blumel steering wheel made no sense, since its diameter was necessary for a non-power steering car, and Bristol had gone to power steering half way through the 409 model... and it seems that this particularity also influenced Bristol to go to a new wheel for the 411. Mr. Marelli, seeing that I now possessed a surplus Blumel told me the story of one of his customers whose wheel had been stolen, and enquired if I would like to sell it to them. I thought it fair to offer it to him for the price I paid, to be deducted off the bill I was at that moment settling. Later when I mentioned this to Spencer Lane-Jones, I believe I heard a gasket blow, as it turned out that Spencer had done me a great kindness and sold me the wheel at a substantially lower than market price, a bequest that now had gone to the benefit of Bristol Cars. I probably should not be telling this story, but do so to record for posterity the story of Bristol steering wheels and the naivete of Americans in the old country. ---------- * in the interest of preserving Bristol Cars policy on not disclosing customer names, as N.A. Registrar I had tracked many of the extant cars in the US and Canada, and one day got a call from Elliot Gant, astounded but delighted that I had tracked him down. He was a lovely gentleman and told me any number of stories (having just sold the company, he could have afforded a Rolls, but felt he could never pull it off in Yankee New Haven, Connecticut, hence the Bristol). After I had told Mr. Marelli enough of them to establish the first customer had disclosed his identity to me (Americans like Mr Gant could not care less about this British obsession with privacy acts), I was able to get the factory's side of it. Even Mr. Crook filled in many of the gaps. |
Rebuilding Steering Wheel
Peter, I have shopped around a bit including the US links and I know Mark
Wallach very well. It would appear that at this point Myrtle may be offering good value in that if I undertand correctly you get a new wheel for 325 pounds. I have friends coming over in June so shipping would not be an issue. I have sent them an e-mail so we shall see. Dorien |
Rebuilding Steering Wheel
> Peter,
Myrtle quoted me 325 +15 % Vat, or shipping to Canada for some 25 and no Vat. 300 each if we bought 2. You can contact me off line at dorien*thecreativemedium.com Dorien |
Rebuilding Steering Wheel
Thanks for all your inputs....
I have come up with a plan for my wheel, that is really not that bad. After talking to my plater, he suggests stripping the chrome and polishing the spokes. He will do this, and then paper taping the spokes and have a paint shop Powder coat the rim in black. The plater will then take the powder coated rim and chrome the spokes. Any repairs to the rim can be done with various magic epoxies and fine finished by the painter before Powder coating. I will be using a shop that does motorcycles and are therefore used to fixing and painting small bits. So this is the proces I will follow this coming winter. I need the wheel on the car for now, as steering gripping only the hub is particularly arduous when parking! Even with white knuckles showing...... I realize Geoff and others might be concerned about the durability of epoxies and the flexing of the spokes, but I think it worth a try. This after all is pretty much what some of the restoration houses do so. The cost will be substantially less and no VAT to deal with. Fortunately vintage parts coming in from the USA and other countries arrive with little or no GST ( duty equivalent) as the senders have learnt to be creative with their paperwork....not so from Merry Olde England! Dorien |
For those who want to continue the debate about import duty, VAT, GST etc, I have moved the off topic posts to a new thread here http://www.bristolcars.info/forums/showthread.php?t=220
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Rebuilding Steering Wheel
Ash,
There is a problem with the posting.....My answer was not directed at you, but rather in response to another one. By the way, I agree that it doesn't cost them anything to declare that the part is for a vintage vehicle. Unfortunately we have much evidence to show that they won't do this on a regular basis. This is a costly mistake and particularly annoyng when we were given to understand that the item will be correctly classified and then it is not. When complaining, we get the feeble excuse that they do not know for sure how or were the part will be used, and will therefore not declare it for a vintage car or ?? Fair enough.....but then don't take my money and sell me something under false pretences. Talk about a fiddle..... Cheers Dorien |
Rebuilding Steering Wheel
Dorien
It goes without saying that if you are compelled to buy anything from the most expensive country on the planet, then you should email me for assistance as we are exporting stuff all over the world all the time and will be happy to make sure you get it without the benefit of our VAT as well as your own taxes. With apologies to Kevin for not leaping to a new category specifically designed to discuss taxes. I'd rather slash my wrists! Ash |
Rebuilding Steering Wheel
Ash....Thanks will call you for sure if the occasion arises.
Dorien |
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